Re-signing Kevin Love certainly isn't the Utah Jazz's biggest offseason priority, but given his well-documented leadership role with the team over the past season, it feels like something they should do. However, there's a problem with bringing Love back: Utah would re-sign him for what he brings to the locker room over someone who could help more on the court.
The Deseret News' Sarah Todd discussed this while talking about the Jazz's offseason. She outlined the pluses and minuses of bringing him back to the team.
"Love is less likely to be a money issue for the Jazz because he would likely be willing to come back on a veteran minimum deal. He said that if he is coming back as a mentor only and not even getting minutes on the court, that’s something that wouldn’t bother him.
"There’s a good chance that the Jazz would want Love back in exactly that capacity — playing only when injury or special circumstances required it. But the Jazz have to weigh the cost of using a roster spot and spending the money to keep Love in that role."
Utah will be 100% all-in on going to the postseason next season. Of course, they won;t play everyone, but certain title teams have benefited from having everyone on the roster be ready for when the team calls their name.
Love wasn't horrid when Utah called his name, but it's pretty clear what he can and cannot do. What he brings to the table is strictly from a leadership perspective. It's nice to have, but there's also no guarantee the Jazz will be healthy, and if they are undermanned, they may not be too happy about turning to Love to keep the ship steady.
Utah could do worse than Love as the 15th man
While Love may not bring that much to the basketball court in this day and age, Utah knows first-hand how important it is to have guys that can help form a good locker room bond with his teammates. They know from their last playoff era with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert that part of that team's downfall was their unhealthy locker room.
That's why no one thinks bringing Love back is an all-out bad idea. Why not bring back someone who loved his time as a Jazzman despite a limited role and has proven that he can help the young guys reach their potential?
Plus, if the Jazz suddenly find themselves undermanned and don't like what they see from Love, it's not like cutting him and his inexpensive contract for someone who would be better than him is the worst fate in the world.
The Jazz could do better than Love as their 15th man if that's what they wanted, but no one would have a problem with his return to the roster regardless.
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